Radio Dust
by RosabelleDeLune
Summary: Angel Dust loves K-pop music. So when he discovers a local competition for aspiring idol groups, he jumps at the chance, somehow enlisting the help of Alastor and Husk to form his own idol trio; Radio Dust!
1. Idol

**I thought Radio Dust sounded like it could be the name of a K-pop group, and so this fic was born! ٩( ᐛ )و**

**In terms of shipping, however, there is no RadioDust. Sorry lol.**

**English lyrics to Boy with Luv by Joytastic Sarah.**

-x-x-x-x-x-

For as long as he could remember, Angel Dust loved to dance. Of course, his enjoyment of pole dancing and lap dancing didn't come as a surprise; that came with his profession. But when he was alone, Angel loved to blast K-pop music as loud as he could, belting out the lyrics and letting the beat control his body. He wasn't an amazing singer, but he loved doing it too much to care.

Nobody but his sister knew of this secret passion of his. In fact, it was her who introduced him to it. Fond memories of the two siblings bouncing around to upbeat songs often surfaced in Angel's mind. These days, he didn't really have anybody to share his love of K-pop with, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it by himself.

Until one day, an opportunity arose. A colorful flyer pinned to a notice board caught Angel's eye.

'CALLING ALL ASPIRING IDOL GROUPS!'

Angel Dust's face lit up. Could it be? He continued reading.

'Pentagram City is holding a competition for aspiring idol groups! Could YOU be Hell's next big thing? Register your group for entry online today!'

He could hardly believe it. Angel felt he could scream with delight, and not in the usual way he was accustomed to. There was just one little thing stopping him; this was a group competition. But how hard could it be to find someone willing to enter with him?

Angel was lost in a giddy daydream all the way back to the hotel, not even stopping to offer his usual flirty greeting to Husk on his way past the bar. As he made his way upstairs to his room, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

He could hear a male voice singing. And it sounded really nice, too. Angel quickly identified which door it was coming from and pressed his ear against it. The singing was gentle, like a ballad, although the spider demon couldn't hear any exact words through the thick door.

He didn't even think twice about knocking. He had to find out who owned that voice.

The singing abruptly stopped, and the door swung open to reveal a familiar demon.

"Al!" Angel was taken aback. "That was you singing?"

Alastor narrowed his eyes. "And how long were you standing here listening?"

"Doesn't matter! I gotta ask you something real important," Angel insisted, entering the room without invitation. "There's this idol competition I wanna enter, but it's for groups only-"

"What do you mean, 'idol'?" Alastor questioned, closing the door behind him.

Angel was surprised he hadn't been kicked out straight away, but he continued to explain. "It's like, a specific kind of pop group that specialise in singing and dancing and all that. You've got a real nice voice, Al. I was kinda hoping you might enter the competition with me."

Alastor pondered, the opportunity to sing to an audience appealing to him. Even if it would be with Angel Dust.

"What kind of song would I be expected to sing?"

Angel opened the music app in his phone and tapped a song, and Boy with Luv by BTS began to play.

Alastor listened patiently for a minute before wrinkling his nose. "I must admit, Angel... this style of music isn't to my taste."

Angel's heart sank as he paused the song. "Aw, come on, Al. At least try a few dance moves with me before you make up your mind."

"I think you'll find dancing is more YOUR area of expertise than mine."

"Ok, ok. We can start with singing if you want?" Angel was desperate not to lose the Radio Demon's interest.

"Very well," Alastor agreed.

The spider demon brought up the lyrics to Boy with Luv on his phone and handed it to Alastor. He squinted at the screen, his distaste for modern technology clear by the expression on his face.

"I'm curious about you, how's your day?" Angel began singing softly. "Oh, tell me..." He gestured for Alastor to continue.

He cleared his throat. "What makes you happy instead of okay," he sang with perfect pitch.

"Hey, that was great!" Angel grinned. "See, you're a natural at this! So whaddya say, Al? Will you enter the competition with me?"

"I suppose it could be entertaining," Alastor admitted. "Very well! I shall form an idol duo with you."

Angel let a squeal of delight escape him. "Thank you! You don't know how much that means to me, buddy!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he leapt onto Alastor's computer without even asking, provoking a buzz of irritation from the red-haired demon. Angel excitedly typed the competition website into the web browser, navigating his way to the entry form. The first part of the form asked for the name of the group.

"Hey, Smiles!" Angel called to Alastor, who was now sitting on the bed behind him. "We need a group name."

"Well, don't ask me. I don't know anything about what's 'hip' or 'trendy' these days."

"How about a mashup of our names or something? That usually works for duos."

Alastor ran various combinations of his and Angel's names through his head, and grimaced. "Perhaps not."

"Or a word using the first letters of our names." Angel thought for a second. "Both our names begin with 'A' though... AA! Like AA batteries!" He spluttered with laughter.

"Can you please try to take this seriously?" said Alastor through frustrated static. "This was your idea, after all."

"You sound like a broken radio, Al. Maybe you need to change your AA batteries!" Angel continued laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair, but suddenly he gasped and bolted upright. "Hey, I've got it! Radio Demon and Angel Dust... Radio Dust!" He quickly typed it into the entry form. This was all beginning to feel a lot more real.

Alastor nodded approvingly. "Yes, I suppose that works."

"Alright, next is individual member details... ah, shit!" Angel cried out in frustration. "This says we need a minimum of three people to enter." He slammed his head into the keyboard and groaned, seeing his dream slipping away from him. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

Alastor chuckled, his eyes glowing red. "Don't you worry, Angel. I know just the person."


	2. Fantastic, Baby

"Go fuck yourself," Husk grumbled. He wasn't in the mood for this shit today. Or any day, for that matter.

"Pleeeeease, Husk!" Angel begged, practically on his knees. "We need one more person or we can't enter the competition!"

"Do I look like a fucking singer to you?"

"And dancer," Alastor added unhelpfully.

"You wouldn't have to sing," Angel bargained. "You could rap instead! There's lots of rapping in K-pop songs."

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time." Husk leaned over the bar and into Angel's face, almost touching noses with the spider demon. "Fuck. Off."

Angel felt tears of frustration prickling in his eyes. "You're such a selfish asshole!"

"Now wait a second, Angel," said Alastor, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "I think I can come up with an arrangement that may be... mutually beneficial?" He produced a bottle of booze out of thin air, offering it to the cat demon with a grin.

Husk growled, but he snatched the bottle. "You son of a bitch."

"There's plenty more where that came from, my friend. That is, if you're willing to join our idol group?"

"I fucking hate you."

An incredibly reluctant Husk trailed upstairs with Angel Dust and Alastor to the latter's hotel room for an immediate practice session. Angel took out his phone once again and played Boy with Luv for Husk. He scowled, clearly not enjoying such a cheesy lovey-dovey song, although his ears did perk up during the fast rap in the second verse.

"That's the rap I want you to try," said Angel, handing him the lyrics on his phone screen. "Do you think you can do that?"

Husk grumbled, taking a swig of booze. He was glad he was already tipsy, because there was no way he'd do this sober.

The cat demon cleared his throat, and quietly began to rap, grumpy expression still present on his face.

"They used to say, I used to be so little, now look at me. And destiny, it sounds pretty cool but not my thing."

Angel clapped both sets of hands together with glee. "Husk, baby! That was incredible!"

"I agree," said Alastor. "Very fast, and yet still perfectly coherent. You'll make a fine addition to our group, Husker."

Husk only grunted in response, but let a small smirk creep across his face.

"So this is it, huh?" said an excited Angel. "We're a team now?"

Alastor smiled. "Yes, I believe we are! This is rather thrilling!"

Husk rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. I guess I'm being dragged along for the ride whether I like it or not."

Angel looked at his two groupmates as blissful reality began to sink in; he was now the leader of an idol group. Radio Dust.

It was a dream come true.

He clambered up on the bed and stood tall and proud. "Alright, gang!" Angel announced. "Are you ready for this? We've got a lot of hard work to do!"


	3. Blood, Sweat and Tears

The three group members practiced for as much as Alastor's attention span and Husk's grumpy attitude would allow. It was a frustrating, tiring process for Angel Dust, but it was definitely worth it to see his dream slowly becoming a reality.

Alastor had a pretty good grasp on the dancing almost straight away, and although Husk took some time to get into the swing of it, eventually the whole group were stepping in sync.

Husk still refused to sing, insisting on sticking solely with the rap parts, but he was such a good rapper that Angel didn't mind too much. Besides, he didn't want to risk driving Husk away. He wasn't the best at remembering to smile, but Alastor and Angel's infectious grins more than made up for it.

When he wasn't practicing his singing or dancing, Angel was working hard on creating matching outfits for the trio to wear; handsome suits with glittery white jackets. Alastor, not thrilled about the idea of being touched, had insisted on taking his own measurements. The spider demon wasn't even sure if it was done accurately and would've much preferred to do it himself, but it was better than nothing.

And now, it was finally here. The opening round of the Pentagram City Idol Group competition was today. TODAY. It had come so fast, Angel could hardly believe it. He sat in front of a mirror in the backstage dressing room, applying the finishing touches to his makeup, which he discovered wasn't easy with trembling hands. It was a miracle he was able to fasten his shirt buttons.

Husk and Alastor were on the other side of the dressing room, rehearsing the dance steps to Boy with Luv one last time before the show began. Radio Dust were second on stage, right after a group called Rainbow Girls. There were twelve groups in total who had entered, but only three would advance to the final.

There was a knock at the door, and a hellhound carrying a clipboard entered.

"Radio Dust, right?" he asked, prompting a nod of confirmation from the trio. "We're about to start. You guys are on second, so follow me backstage please."

The three trotted along behind the hellhound, following him backstage, where it was almost too dark to see each other's faces. There was quiet chatter as everyone made last minute preparations and readied the stage for the first group to perform. Angel peered out onto the stage and saw the shadows of a crowd illuminated by stage lights.

"You guys feeling alright?" Angel Dust asked the other two in a whisper.

But Alastor and Husk didn't have time to respond before a booming voice came over the PA system.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Pentagram City Idol Group competition! Are you ready to see some real talent today?"

The crowd erupted into excited cheering and screeching.

"Please give a very warm welcome to our first group... Rainbow Girls, performing La Vie en Rose by IZ*ONE!"

Three very familiar demon girls dressed in matching red and black outfits strutted past the Radio Dust members and onto the stage.

"What?!" Angel spluttered, startling various people backstage. "Since when were they in the competition?"

Charlie, Vaggie and Niffty started to dance with swaying hand motions. The demon princess opened her mouth to sing.

"It's up to me, I will recolor it this time." Her voice was soft and feminine. "I'll make it red, make it red."

The three Radio Dust boys watched the Rainbow Girls in awe. It was only the first group and already Angel knew it would be a tough act to follow.

"La la la la vie en rose~" Charlie's beautiful voice echoed through the performance hall. The other two girls had sweet voices to match, and such mesmerising dance moves.

Butterflies flittered in Angel's stomach through the rest of the Rainbow Girls' performance. When the trio had finished, it seemed like the crowd would never stop cheering. The three girls blew kisses into the crowd as they skipped off stage. Angel hoped none of them would notice him as they passed by, but a tuft of pink fluff caught Charlie's eye and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Angel Dust!" she gasped, a big smile spreading across her face. "I had no idea you were performing here!"

"Same to you, toots," said Angel, trying to hide his nerves. "You, uh... you were pretty damn good out there."

She let out a small laugh. "I'm so glad you thought so! To be honest, I was actually pretty nervous-"

"Charlie!" Vaggie called impatiently. "Are you coming?"

"On my way!" Charlie called back. "Good luck, Angel!" And with that, she disappeared into the darkness enveloping the backstage area.

With Charlie gone, Angel finally released a shaky sigh. It seemed like a million questions were running through his head.

Did he remember to eat breakfast?

Was there time to go to the bathroom?

Were his groupmates just as nervous as him?

There wasn't time to find answers to any of them before the announcer called them onto the stage.

"Everyone, put your hands together for our next group... Radio Dust, performing Boy with Luv by BTS!"

This was it; their big moment. Angel cast any fears to the back of his mind, held his head high, and sashayed onto the stage. To his surprise, the spider demon actually felt less nervous now that he was there, and hearing the crowd cheering wildly only made him feel more confident.

Exchanging glances and smiles, the three took their starting positions, with Angel in the middle.

The music began to play. Angel, Alastor and Husk started dancing to the beat, the movements almost second nature to them now.

"I'm curious about you, how's your day?" Angel sang the opening lyrics. "Oh tell me..."

It was all going just as practiced, all three members giving it their all. Each verse, each chorus, each rap, each dance step made with perfect precision.

"Oh my my my, oh my my my."

The stage lights shone in their faces the entire time, and while it was uncomfortable, it was a blessing in disguise; the audience were just shadows, and so the group were unable to see every pair of eyes watching them, helping them to relax a little. With relaxation came fluid dance moves, and as Radio Dust finished their routine and froze in their final dance pose, the crowd whooped and cheered like nothing Angel had ever heard before.

"Let's hear another round of applause for Radio Dust!"

Angel gave an enthusiastic wave to the applauding audience as the trio made their way offstage.

"That went rather well, even if I say so myself!" said Alastor once they were backstage.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't all bad," Husk agreed.

"Are you kidding? That was amazing!" Angel exclaimed. "I knew we could do it!"

Ten more groups came and went, but Angel Dust barely paid attention to any of them; by this point his nerves had returned, and he was too busy overthinking every small aspect of Radio Dust's performance with another million questions running through his mind.

Did he hit that note correctly?

Were his dance steps precise enough?

Did Alastor and Husk match his energy?

Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by another announcement.

"The finalists will now be announced! Will all performers please return to the stage!"

What felt like a hundred performers quickly scrambled on stage in their groups, although in reality it was closer to fifty. The three members of Radio Dust stood next to each other, feeling a little squished with so many people crowded together. An irritated static emitted from Alastor as another performer stood on his foot.

"We've seen so many talented groups today," the announcer continued, "but as you know, only three may advance to the final! Our judges have been carefully considering each and every performance we've seen today, and although everybody today showed talent and promise, we have selected our top three!"

There was complete silence as every single person, both on stage and in the audience, held their breath in anticipation.

"In third place... I.M.P.!"

An trio of imps hugged each other and squealed in excitement. Angel shuddered, almost scared for the next group to be announced in case they didn't make it through.

"In second place... Radio Dust!"

"Holy shit, we actually made the final?" said a wide-eyed Husk.

"It would seem so!" Alastor responded gleefully. "Congratulations, everyone!"

Angel was stunned. He couldn't believe it. All their hard work had paid off, and they were going to perform in the final. He was lost for words and simply stood frozen to the spot, fighting back tears of joy.

"And in first place... Rainbow Girls!"

The Radio Dust members barely heard the announcement for first place; by this point, they were already cheering and jumping around in celebration of their own victory. Angel let his tears spill, too happy to care who saw. In that moment, he didn't care about the upcoming final, and he didn't care about whether they won it or not.

They did it, and they couldn't be happier.


End file.
